Indian National Faces Trial In Germany For Spying On Sikhs, Kashmiris For India’s Secret Service

An Indian national faces trial in Germany on charges that he spied on the Sikh and Kashmiri communities in the country on behalf of the Indian foreign intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing, or RAW.

Federal prosecutors allege that the suspect, identified only as “Balvir,” aged 54, had been working for RAW since 2015.

(Due to German privacy laws, defendants’ last names are not publicized)

"He allegedly provided information about figures in the Sikh opposition scene and the Kashmiri movement and their relatives in Germany, and passed this on to his handlers who were working at the Indian consulate general in Frankfurt," the higher regional court in Frankfurt said in a statement.

The trial will commence on Aug. 25.

Last December, the same court in Frankfurt convicted an Indian couple for spying on the local Sikh and Kashmiri communities on behalf of RAW.

The husband, Manmohan S., aged 50, received a one-and-a-half-year suspended jail sentence for illegal espionage activities, while his wife, Kanwal Jit K., aged 51, received a fine equivalent to 180 days of income for aiding and abetting such espionage.

The husband began spying for RAW in January 2015 and his wife joined up in July 2017. The couple reportedly were paid €7,200 ($7,788) from RAW for their services.

Both cases stem from the Indian government’s fears that both Sikhs and Kashmiris living abroad in the diaspora are seeking to foment separatism in India.

Germany has between 10,000 and 20,000 Sikhs -- the third largest such community in Europe after Britain and Italy.

Kashmir, currently under lockdown by the Indian military, has been claimed by both India and Pakistan since 1947 -- they have fought three wars over the disputed region since. An insurgency against India that erupted in 1989 has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Kashmir.

The Week news outlet of India reported that the Indian government had not yet commented on the arrest in Germany.

But counter-terror officials in India claim that several top leaders of the outlawed Khalistan movement – which seeks a separate Sikh homeland in Punjab, India – operate freely in Germany. Many either hold non-Indian passports or have applied for political asylum in Germany.

Khalistan advocates also exist in Canada, U.K. and U.S.

Indian security agencies also are puzzled as to why German authorities have taken no action against Khalistani members there.

One of the top Khalistani operatives in Germany is a man named Gurmeet Singh Bagga of the Khalistan Zindabad Force who is reportedly based in Hamburg. Bagga is believed to have established terror sleeper cells in Punjab and actively sends arms, fake Indian currency, and drugs into Punjab through his allies in Pakistan.

While the identity of “Balvir” is a mystery, Indian counter-terror agencies continue to seek out Bagga, as well as other Khalistani leaders in Germany, including Ranjeet Singh, Gajinder Singh, Dal Khalsa, Wadhwa Singh and Babbar Khalsa.

Last September, the brother of Bagga, Gurdev Singh, was arrested on charges of smuggling arms and ammunition into Indian territory through the use of drones from across the border in Pakistan.

Gurdev Singh, a resident of Hoshiarpur in Punjab, also had in his possession about $4,000 in fake currency.